Cleveland Police track down suspect after rash of sexual assaults and break-ins

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Cleveland Police arrested a suspect who is accused of raping one woman and potentially stalking several east side residents.

Police arrested 26-year-old Dominic Booker. Booker was initially arrested for a parole violation on Wednesday.

Cleveland Police Chief, Calvin Williams, says that Booker will be officially charged Friday afternoon with burglary and sexual assault for an incident involving the 31-year-old woman.

Police say that the 26-year-old is a person of interest in three recent assaults, including an incident with a 7-year-old child.

“We’re still investigating that and, obviously, the investigation into the male that’s going to be charged continues," said Williams.

Booker may also be linked to a 2018 sexual assault case.

According to authorities, forensic evidence still needs to be thoroughly investigated to connect Booker to the four other cases.

The first reported incident happened on September 3.

Police have since been investigating the incidents.

In early September, police warned the public about a suspect who may be involved in a string of break-ins and sexual assault cases where women and children were targeted.

Four recent incidents, in particular, have rattled residents on the city’s East Side.

Here’s a case-by-case breakdown, provided by Cleveland Police Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia:

• On Sept. 3 at 2 a.m., a man crept up to a home in the 14300 block of Caine Avenue, pushed the AC unit out of a window and attempted to assault a 7-year-old girl. The girl screamed and the suspect fled from the home. The suspect was described as a black man with a mustache, and he was wearing a black ski mask and black clothing.

• On Sept. 14 at 2:30 a.m., a man broke into the 4300 block of East 142nd Street and raped a mother as her kids slept nearby. The suspect was black with light complexion, had a shaggy beard, was approximately 25 years old, weighed roughly 150 pounds and was 5-feet-5-inches tall, with short brown hair and hazel eyes. The suspect was wearing a black ski mask, black clothing and was barefoot.

• On Sept. 16 at about 11 p.m., a man attempted to peel away the frame of a child’s bedroom window in the 4300 block of East 144th Street, but then ran off. “I responded and am completing this report because it is strikingly similar to another incident I encountered,” the responding Cleveland police officer said.

• On Sept. 16 just after 11 p.m., a man attempted to pull out an air conditioner of a home on East 144th Street, but then ran off. “Due to the fact in this neighborhood we have had reports of three rapes to date where the suspect entered through a window, where he pulled out an air conditioner wearing a black mask, I found it imperative to have [the witness] make a report although he never called police the day of the incident,” the responding Cleveland police officer said.

Anyone with information regarding this suspect is strongly urged to contact the Cleveland Police Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit at 216-623-5630.

Related: Cleveland mother sexually assaulted by suspected serial rapist in ski mask

Anonymous information can be given to Crime Stoppers by calling 216-252-7463.

Return to 19 News for updates on this developing story.

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